History of St. Mary’s-St. Francis

Early Years—The Jesuit Connection

(Rev. 2009 CJVK)

Penal laws in the early days of the Colonies under English rule, before the Revolution of 1776, forbade the practice of the Catholic religion.  No Catholic Churches were allowed to be built.  Home chapels were allowed for private devotions held commonly without priests—priests were scarce.  Beginning about 1756, a few Jesuit missionary priests came to this area of the Colony of Maryland, Frederick County from the Jesuit Conewago Mission near Hanover, PA or up from Georgetown until the parish of St. John’s the Evangelist, Frederick was established by 1763.

Under the guidance of the first Archbishop of Baltimore, John Carroll, himself a Jesuit, mission churches began to be established outside the town of Frederick.  The missionary Fathers rode horseback long distances between missions offering Mass and the Sacraments once or twice each month.  St. Mary’s began as a mission to St. John’s in 1826.  The IHS found throughout the church comes from the early seal of the Society of Jesus marking the Jesuit influence in its design—its Georgian architectural style is similar to the early St. John’s, Frederick built in 1800.

Between 1826 and 1903 forty different Jesuit priests attended to the needs of this mission parish.  The names coming up most often are John McElroy, S.J. and John B. Gaffney, S. J. in connection with the construction in 1826 and rebuilding in 1873 of St. Mary’s brick churches for the slaves and free blacks of the area, and again, John B. Gaffney, S.J., in connection with what may well be the first organized school for black children in this part of Frederick County at St. Mary’s!

$1000 for the construction and...$1000 for the support of a Roman Catholic Church...near Needwood, was given to his trustees in the 1819 will of Thomas Sim Lee.  He was a Catholic and former governor of Maryland, who lived on his plantation, Needwood Forrest, near Petersville—his descendants still attend St. Mary’s.  In 1826, the land for building St. Mary’s was provided by the Protestant, Levin West family, who lived on Merryland—their descendants still live in the area.  Today’s Rt. 340 approximately divides these two large tracts of land of the early donors.

It was, however, the labors and skills of all the unnamed slave and free black peoples from Merryland and Needwood who made their churches and school a reality.  More recognition needs to be given for their contributions—their descendants also still attend St. Mary’s.

Later Years—The Archbishop Connection

The Jesuits moved their center of operations to Poughkeepsie, NY in early 1903.  Their properties and mission churches were gradually sold or turned over to Cardinal James Gibbons, the Archbishop of Baltimore.  In the years before the Jesuits left Frederick, the Archbishop began to prepare for this new responsibility.

Quickly land was acquired; churches and schools were built; cemeteries were expanded; and secular priests were ordained and assigned to the former mission parishes.  Rev. John M. Barry was sent to be the first resident priest at St. Mary’s by 1893 and given the added responsibility for the mission churches of St. James, Point of Rocks and the new St. Francis, Brunswick in 1894.  That year, a frame church was begun on Seventh Avenue overlooking today’s City Park on the first of five lots the Archbishop had purchased.  It was named St. Francis in honor of Monsignor Francis Satolli, the Papal Delegate, who laid the cornerstone.

With the convergence of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Brunswick (formerly Berlin before 1890) was experiencing a rapid population growth.  The Archbishop recognized the need for a church and school complex to serve these mostly Irish families.  A priest was also needed nearby to tend to the injured and dying from railroad accidents.  By the end of 1906, all the lots on Seventh Avenue, including the church and two houses had been sold—there was no room for expansion and the steep, unpaved street may have finalized that decision.  A new brick church was dedicated in 1907 to join the new brick rectory and the former Shenk’s residence and Seminary building—all at the present-day corner of First Avenue and B Street.  Father James O’Connell moved to Brunswick that year, making St. Mary’s the mission church.  This school and adjacent residence, used as a convent, were torn down in 1977 for a parking lot.  Their location is marked by the grass-covered, vacant lot behind the church.

Present Years—The Deacon Connection

In 2009, as one parish family with two churches, we are thriving under the able supervision of our Parish Leader, Deacon Lawrence Teixeira, the Staff and Parish Council.  Deacon “Tex” was the first deacon from the Archdiocese of Baltimore to be appointed to this position in Frederick County (2003)—yet, another first for St. Mary’s-St. Francis.  The reason for this change—priests are again scarce!  We have 319 registered families in the parish and 80 children attending the Faith Formation Program.  Assigned priests offer Masses during the weekends.

St. Mary’s Parochial School

More research is needed to document this school as the first organized school for black children in this area of Frederick County and its use as a hospital during the Civil War.  The old wooden and brick school building was located immediately behind and between the Church and former Rectory at the end of the present walkway beside the Church.  The Sisters of Charity from Emmitsburg also taught here.  After the school closed, the building was used throughout the years for various church and social activities before it was also demolished in 1977.

St. Francis Parochial School

In the basement of the frame church on Seventh Street, Brunswick, religion classes were held with lay teachers by 1896.  In the Fall of 1906, the school moved to B Street into the former Shenk’s Seminary, which had been newly built in 1901.  By 1907, 150 students were registered.  Ursuline Sisters taught multiple grades for several years while living in the residence/convent next door.  After the school closed, summer sessions and religion classes were held inside the old school building for the parish children before its demolition.

St. Mary’s Cemetery

Today’s cemetery around the church encompasses 5.313 acres.  The earliest, legible tombstone date is 1832.  The tombstones range from the very simple to the more elaborate—including graves totally unmarked in the long-arm, northeast corner of the cemetery.  This narrow portion extends past Shady Lane to First Street off of Rt. 180 and dates from 1918.  Charles T. Smallwood, Sr. (1915-2007) faithfully tended this cemetery for over fifty years.

The Bells of St. Mary’s-St. Francis

St. Mary’s steeple bell cast in Troy, New York in 1870, now hangs at the entrance of St. Mary’s, Petersville.  Similarly, the steeple bell from St. Francis, Brunswick, cast on May 20, 1895, now hangs at the entrance of the church on First Avenue.  This bell had formerly hung in the steeple of the frame church on Seventh Avenue.  It was removed and reinstalled in the new brick church in 1907.  Structural safety forced the bell relocations and enclosures of the steeples in the 1980s.